Molded electric switch comprising removable portions



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Nov. 2, 1965 MOLDED ELECTRIC SWITCH COMPRISING REMOVABLE PORTIONS Filed March 12, 1963 FIGJO INVENTOR.

HI S ATTOR NEY United States Patent 3,215,808 MOLDED ELECTRIC SWITCH COMPRISING REMOVABLE PORTIONS Irving L. Lau, 1130 Acorn Drive, Dayton, Ohio Filed Mar. 12, 1963, Ser. No. 264,657 7 Claims. (Cl. 200-463) This invention relates to electric switches.

One object of the inventon is the provision of an electric switch embodying a relatively few parts such as could be cheaply made and very easily assembled into a complete unit.

Another object is the provision of an electric switch in which the essential portions are made of molded insulating material and which is capable of being assembled without the use of any special tools.

Another object is the provision of an electric switch having a cover plate that is adapted to be attached to a switch box, the cover plate having a rearwardly extending portion which telescopically engages and is connected to a body member containing the switching contact operated by a toggle lever projecting through the cover plate.

Another object is the provision of an electric switch having only a few simple parts which are so conveniently and easily assembled that the switch need not be assembled at the source of manufacture but can be assembled while it is being connected at the particular point of use.

Another object is the provision of a switch having simple connecting means for attaching lead-in wires which gives a secure connection without the use of any special tools.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawing, in which,

FIGURE 1 is an end view of the switch;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the cover plate portion together with the switch operating lever;

FIGURE 3 is a side view of the body portion of the switch;

FIGURE 4 is a view of the switch cover member looking at the rear of the member;

FIGURE 5 is a front view of the body member;

FIGURE 6 is a detail showing a connecting bail;

FIGURE 7 is a View of the shuttle contact;

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view on the line 88 of FIG- URE 5;

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view on the line 99 of FIG- URE 5;

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged central vertical section of the switch with portions of the cover member removed;

FIGURE 11 is a section on a reduced scale on the line 11--11 of FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 12 shows a corner portion looking at the end of the body member;

FIGURE 13 is a bottom view of one of the connecting strips;

FIGURE 14 is an end view of the connecting strip.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, in which the same numerals are used to designate like parts in the dilferent views, the more essential members of which the switch is constituted are the front cover 10 and the rear body member 11. These parts are preferably made of 3,215,808 Patented Nov. 2, 1965 molded insulating material such as a thermo-setting plastic. The cover 10 has two spaced rear wall portions 12 which are molded integrally with the flat face plate 13 as illustrated in FIGURE 4. The wall portions 12 are grooved as shown at 14, this grooved portion being adapted to receive the projecting lugs 16 which form the pivot of the switch lever 17. This lever extends through an opening 20 and is arranged between the wall portions 12 and is urged outwardly against the cover 10 by a spring 21 as will be presently described.

The body member 11 is generally cup-shaped having a rear wall 25, end walls 26 and side walls 27. The side walls 27 are telescopically engaged with the Wall portion 12 of the cover member so that these parts constitute a housing. The side walls 27 may be connected to the Walls 12 by suitable attaching means at the rear of the cover. Preferably these attaching means are bails 30 of spring wire that may be slipped over the rear portion of the housing and engaged in holes 31 in the body member and holes 32 in the walls 12 as indicated in FIGURE 1, thus securing these two housing portions together without requiring the use of threaded parts of any sort. When the ends of the bail wire engage both the holes 31 and 32, the end of the body is firmly located against the rear of the cover plate and in this position as shown more par ticularly in FIGURE 10, the rear ends 29 of the side Walls 12 are very close to ledges 33 formed in the interior of the housing portion 11. This forms a space between the side ledges 33 in which the shuttle contact 34 can operate. This shuttle contact has contact ears 35 and has an aperture 36 through which the arm .37 of the lever 17 extends for positive operation of the shuttle contact as the lever is moved either to the upper or lower limits of its position. A snap action of the lever is provided by the spring 21 the end of which is of such size that it will engage around and be retained on the knob 38 at the end of the arm 37. The other end of the spring is received in the well portion 40 of the body member and as will be apparent when the lever is moved from a position shown in FIGURE 2 to that shown in FIGURE 10 the shuttle contact 34 will be moved upwardly with a snap action as the spring 21 passes from a position in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the lever 17.

The body member 11 has a generally V-shaped recess or well portion 40 and at each side of this well portion the body member has a guide surface 41 arranged between the ledges 33. The space between the ledges 33 corresponds substantially to the distance across the shuttle contact 34 so that the shuttle contact will be laterally guided as well as being guided along the rear portion 29 of the walls 12.

In molding the body member 11 recesses are provided at the corner portions as shown at 46, 47, 48-, and 49 and these recesses receive connecting strips 50 one of which is illustrated in FIGURES 13 and 14. The upper ends of the strips project slightly above the surface 41 on thebody member so they can be contacted by the sides of the shuttle contact 34 as indicated in FIGURE 11. When the shuttle contact is arranged as shown in FIGURE 11 an electrical connection is made between the two opposed connecting strips. These connecting strips are such that they can be pressed down without the use of a special tool and without requiring threaded elements and engage wires one of which is illustrated in FIGURE 9. These wires project through holes in the ends of the body member in the recesses 46, 47, 48 and 49 and when the connecting strips 50 are pushed down they press against the wires as will be apparent from FIGURE in which one of the wires is indicated at 55. The connecting strips are preferably longitudinally grooved as indicated at 56 so that a firm connection is made with the wire.

As indicated in FIGURES 1 and 12, there are several wire receiving holes at each corner of the housing of the body member 11, and these holes are different sizes to receive different size wires. Thus there may be three holes 57, 58, and 59 at each corner. Each hole projects slightly and for the same distance into the recesses of the body member so that when a small wire is to be used, it can be placed in the small opening 57 and the larger wires placed in larger holes and since all of these wires will project substantially the same amount into the recess, whichever size wire is used it will be firmly contacted by the connecting strip when that is pressed into place, the connecting strip bearing against the side of the recess to form a firm connection. As shown in FIGURE 9, the holes may extend all the way through the body member from top to bottom so that one drilling operation may complete the drilling and this permits one wire to extend clear through the body member if necessary for any particular circuit and be engaged by two different strips or even three where, as indicated in FIGURE 5, there is an additional recess 60 adapted to receive a connecting strip and connecting wires as may be desired.

It will be apparent the body of the switch is constituted of two principal moulded members which may be engaged with one another to form a complete assemblage. One of these members is the cover plate through which the operating lever extends and which is adapted to be connected by suitable screws extending through holes 63 to the switch outlet box. As will be noted, the switch lever 17 and the spring 21 will be held together and conveniently applied by the person connecting the switch at the place of use. The wires to be connected may be placed in the holes at the end of the switch and the connecting strips inserted and this may all be accomplished without the use of any special tools and without requiring any threaded parts. Having connected the wires, the electrician making the installation may apply the shuttle contact and then assemble the switch into a complete structure by telescopically engaging the side walls of the body member with the rear walls of the cover plate portion. The bails or equivalent connecting members may then be applied and it is then only necessary to secure the completed switch to the switch outlet box. In view of the ease with which the several parts of the switch can be assembled on the job, it is unnecessary for the manufacturer to assemble these parts and ship them assembled as has been the custom. The user himself can assemble the parts at the place of use. The switch, therefore, is very economically made since it employs only a minimum of elements and since those elements may be so conveniently assembled without the use of special tools. The construction is also such that it can be safely and easily disassembled for rewiring or maintenance purposes by unskilled persons. Since the insulation on the wires connected to the body member may extend up to the body member itself, the danger of shock is minimized even if the electric supply is not disconnected.

While the form of construction herein illustrated and described constitutes the preferred form of my invention, it will be apparent that modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of my invention defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. An electrical switch comprising: a centrally apertured cover plate of molded insulation material adapted for connection to an outlet box and having a rearwardly extending attaching portion which is spaced inwardly from the periphery of said cover plate and integral therewith; a body portion of molded insulating material extending rearwardly from said attaching portion and telescopically engaged therewith; means for releasably securing said body portion to said attaching portion, said body portion having walls provided with wire connections interiorly of said body portion to which wires may conveniently be connected; a conductive connection member mounted in said body portion for bridging selected ones of said wire connections; and an operating lever extending out through the aperture in said cover plate and projecting into operative engagement with said connection member for moving said member to bridge selected ones of said wire connections.

2. An electrical switch comprising: a centrally apertured cover member adapted for connection to an outlet box, said cover member having a rearwardly extending attaching portion integral therewith and spaced inwardly from the periphery of said cover member; a body member of molded insulating material having side walls telescopically engaging said attaching portion of said cover member; means for connecting said side walls to said attaching portion; an operating lever extending through the aperture in said cover member and provided with pivot lugs; spring means mounted in said body member contacting and providing a snap action of said lever; a contact member connected to and operated by said lever; and wire connections means in said body member engageagle by said contact member for the attachment of lead in wires for connection to an external circuit.

3. An electric switch as set forth in claim 2 said body member having a well and said spring means engaging said well and said lever and providing a snap action of said lever from one limiting position to the other.

4. An electrical switch as set forth in claim 2 said body member having recesses at corner portions in which said wire connection means are insertable and the body member having openings into which wires may be extended for engagement with said wire connections, said wire connections having portions engageable by said contact member.

5. An electrical device of the character described comprising: an apertured cover plate of molded insulation material adapted for connection to an electrical outlet box and having a rearwardly extending attaching portion which is spaced inwardly from the periphery of said cover plate and integral therewith; a body member of molded insulation material extending rearwardly from said attaching portion and telescopically engaged therewith; means for releasably securing said body member to the attaching portion of said cover plate; recesses in interior corner portions of said body member, said body member at corner portions having openings through which the ends of wires can be inserted to extend partially into said recesses; Wire connections insertable into said recesses for contact with the wires, and means operable to establish an electrical connection from one of the wire connections to another.

6. An electrical switch comprising: a two-part housing each part being made of molded insulating material, one part constituting a body member having a rear wall and side walls integral therewith and the other being a cover plate of substantially larger length and width than the body member and having rearwardly extending wall portions integral with said cover plate and telescopically engaging the side walls of the body member; means for releasably securing said wall portions to the side walls of the body member, said cover plate having an opening; a switch lever extending through said opening and mounted for pivotal movement on said cover plate; a spring in said body member engaging said lever to urge said lever to a limiting position; a movable contact member supported in said body member for movement from one limiting position to another; and wire connections within said 5 body member selectively engageable by said contact member.

7. An electrical switch comprising: an apertured cover plate adapted for connection to an outlet box and having two spaced parallel rearwardly extending attaching portions spaced inwardly from the periphery of said cover plate and integral therewith; a body portion of molded material extending rearwardly from said attaching portions and telescopically engaged therewith; means for releasably securing said body portion to said cover plate, said body portion having a back Wall and side walls and having recesses at corner portions provided with insertable wire connections, the body member at corner portions having wire connection openings through which the ends of wires may be inserted for connection to said wire connections; a conductive connection member mounted in said body member for connecting selected ones of said References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,241,469 5/41 Meuer ZOO-16 2,289,863 7/42 Batcheller 200-468 2,429,770 10/47 Popp 200168 2,686,851 7/54 Sanda 200-16 2,736,849 11/59 Douglas 200168 BERNARD A. GILHEANY, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN ELCTRICAL SWITCH COMPRISING: A CENTRALLY APERTURED COVER PLATE OF MOLDED INSULATION MATERIAL ADAPTED FOR CONNECTION TO AN OUTLET BOX AND HAVING A REARWARDLY EXTENDING ATTACHING PORTION WHICH IS SPACED INWARDLY FROM THE PERIPHERY OF SAID COVER PLATE AND INTEGRAL THEREWITH; A BODY PORETION OF MOLDED INSULATING MATERIAL EXTENDING REARWARDLY FROM SAID ATTACHING PORTION AND TELESCOPICALLY ENGAGED THEREWITH; MEANS FOR RELEASABLY SECURING SAID BODY PORTION TO SAID ATTACHING PORTION, SAID BODY PORTION HAVING WALLS PROVIDED WITH WIRE CONNECTIONS INTERIORLY OF SAID BODY PORTION TO WHICH WIRES MAY CONVENIENTLY BE CONNECTED; A CONDUCTIVE CONNECTION MEMBER MOUNTED IN SAID BODY PORTION FOR BRIDGING SELECTED ONES OF SAID WIRE CONNECTIONS; ANS AN OPERATING LEVER TXTENDING OUT THROUGH THE APERTURE IN SAID COVER PLATE AND PROJECTING INTO OPERATIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID CONNECTION MEMBER FOR MOVING SAID MEMBER TO BRIDGE SELECTED ONES OF SAOD WIRE CONNECTIONS. 